The iPad Air 5, Apple's first M1-powered iPad Air, was released. The iPad Mini 6 was introduced last year, with a look that is extremely similar to that of the iPad Air and many of the same characteristics. 

The 2021 iPad Mini includes an all-screen design with no Home button, Touch ID unlocking, and two stereo speakers — all of which are shared with the iPad Air. 

Also, with the addition of Center Stage for the front camera and 5G connection to the iPad Air 5, there are even more similarities between devices, making it difficult to choose one over the other. There are, however, several distinctions between the two devices.

First, let’s discuss similarities:

Both can be configured up to 256GB. Both models have the same camera quality-12MP but the iPad mini has a flash while iPad Air has no flash. And both models have the centre stage feature of Apple.  

USB-C is another common thing between them. The IPad Air and IPad Mini, display of both models include a fingerprint-resistant and anti-reflective coating that protects the surface. 

Full lamination and True Tone are also included in the display. There are essentially no differences between the two displays other than the size difference indicated before. 

Max brightness is up to 500 nits. 4K video recording at up to 60 frames per second with 3x video zoom, 1080p HD video recording at 25 frames per second, 30 frames per second, or 60 frames per second, 1080p slo-mo video at 120 frames per second or 240 frames per second, and time-lapse with stabilization. 

iPad Air and iPad mini have the same battery life as claimed by Apple- Up to 10 hours while surfing on Wi-Fi and up to 9 hours while surfing on cellular variants. Both are compatible with the Apple Pencil 2Nd generation. 

Differences:

Screen:

• The most obvious difference between iPad Air and the iPad mini is size; the Screen size of the iPad Air is 10.9 inches (diagonally) and width is 7.02 inches and the height of the iPad mini is 8.3 inches (diagonally) and the width is 5.3 inches. 
• For an all-screen appearance, both smartphones have narrow bezels around the panel. The bezels on both devices are the same size, which makes them stand out more due to the iPad mini's smaller display. 
• Most people can hold the iPad Mini with only one hand from edge to edge. The iPad Mini is designed to be portable, fitting into any bag or even huge pockets. 
• The iPad Air Wi-Fi version weighs 461 grams and cellular version weighs 462 grams and iPad mini Wi-Fi version weighs 293 grams and the cellular version weighs 297 grams. 

Operating chip:

• The differing processors used by the 2021 iPad Mini and the 2022 iPad Air are one of the most noticeable changes. As we previously said, the new iPad Air, like the iPad Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and iMac, is powered by an M1 chip, but the iPad Mini is powered by an A15 Bionic chip. 
• The iPhone 13 and 13 Pro both have the same processor. The A15 Bionic in the iPad Mini, on the other hand, has been downclocked to 2.9GHz. 
• The identical processor in the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro has a higher frequency of 3.2GHz, resulting in a performance differential of 2-8 percent. 
• The iPad mini has 16 core neural engine 6-core CPU and 5-core Graphics. While iPad Air has 8 core CPU, 8 core GPU and a next-generation neural engine. 
• The iPad Air will certainly outperform the iPad mini in multi-core work and activities that require more memory, but both Chipsets are quite powerful, so the difference is unlikely to be significant. 
• However, keep in mind that iPad OS is normally highly efficient with how it uses the device's CPU and RAM, so there shouldn't be much of a change in overall speed unless you're doing a lot of things at once or doing something demanding. 
• Your decision should be based on the kind of jobs you plan to perform with your new iPad.

 

Available colours:

• The iPad mini is available in four colours; starlight, pink, purple and space grey. While iPad Air is available in 5 colours; space grey, purple, pink, starlight and Blue. Blue is a new colour available on iPad Air.

Keyboard connectivity:

• The iPad Air has a magnetic Smart Connector on the back that allows it to connect to keyboards like Apple's Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio. Bluetooth keyboards and pointers are also supported. 
• The iPad mini lacks a Smart Connector and no first-party keyboard alternatives due to its compact size. External keyboards and pointing devices can still be used with the iPad mini, but they must be distinct Bluetooth-enabled devices. 
• However, given its intended use, most users are unlikely to utilize it with a keyboard or pointing device. The iPad Air is the obvious choice here if you need an iPad to use with a keyboard as a more compact and portable substitute for a laptop. 
• The iPad Mini is simply too little to be usable in this manner, and its absence of a Smart Connector makes it much less helpful with a keyboard.

Final verdict:

Though there are many similarities between the iPad Mini and the iPad Air, their two most noticeable distinctions – their sizes and processors – make them drastically different in terms of how they should be used. 

The iPad mini is a little tablet that is convenient to use on the road and takes up as little room as possible when travelling. You can still work on it, but it's not the best device for multitasking or sophisticated jobs that demand greater screen real estate.

However, while the iPad Air is still incredibly portable and simple to take around, its bigger size necessitates the use of a bag or a cover with a handle, since you cannot simply slip it into your pocket (which is potentially possible with the Mini). 

However, you'll find it much simpler to multitask on the iPad Air's bigger display, and you'll be able to accomplish more sophisticated work on it. Furthermore, the device's more powerful M1 chip and larger memory pool would allow it to handle more demanding tasks and a larger number of apps simultaneously without experiencing performance concerns.

 

Also read: "Review of iPad mini 5th Generation", "iPad mini 6th Generation Review"